Latest Health News

12Feb
2020

Consumers Waste Twice as Much Food as Experts Thought

Consumers Waste Twice as Much Food as Experts ThoughtWEDNESDAY, Feb. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Much more food is wasted worldwide than commonly thought, a new study shows. In 2005, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimated that one-third of all food available for human consumption was wasted. This figure has been used to show the extent of food waste worldwide, but it considers supply alone and not consumer behavior. The new study investigated if and how consumer wealth (affluence) may affect food waste. Researchers created a dataset that provides estimates of global and country-by-country waste. Once consumer spending reaches about $6.70 a day per person, they found, waste grows -- initially increasing quickly with rising wealth, and then at much slower rates at higher levels of wealth. The...

Air Pollution Made in One State Can Cause Deaths in Others

12 February 2020
Air Pollution Made in One State Can Cause Deaths in OthersWEDNESDAY, Feb. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Deadly air pollution doesn't stop at state borders, researchers warn. Their analysis of 2005-2018 data on different types of air pollution from a variety of sources showed that half of pollutants generated in one state are carried by winds to affect the health and life span of people in other states. More than half of early deaths related to air pollution in the United States are the result of emissions that originated in other states, according to the study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Electric power generation is the greatest contributor. For example, more than three-fourths of deaths caused by sulfur dioxide emissions occurred in another state. One positive finding: Early deaths associated with air pollution fell...

Drug Duo Speeds Regeneration of Key Cells Lost in Diabetes

12 February 2020
Drug Duo Speeds Regeneration of Key Cells Lost in DiabetesWEDNESDAY, Feb. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A novel combination of two drugs appeared to spur faster regeneration of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, a preliminary study in mice and human tissue found. Beta cells are crucial to making insulin, a hormone that's deficient in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The new drug combo pairs an already approved class of type 2 diabetes medications called GLP-1 receptor agonists with an experimental drug called harmine. "In the United States, 30 million people have diabetes. As many as 80 million have prediabetes. Worldwide, there are 400 million people with diabetes. All of those people have inadequate numbers of beta cells," explained senior study author Dr. Andrew Stewart. He's director of the Mount Sinai Diabetes,...

Fewer American Families Weighed Down by Medical Bills

12 February 2020
Fewer American Families Weighed Down by Medical BillsWEDNESDAY, Feb. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The number of people struggling to pay their medical bills declined dramatically during the last decade, as the Affordable Care Act expanded health insurance coverage and financial protection for the sick. The percentage of families who had problems paying medical expenses in the previous year declined from about 20% in 2011 to 14% in 2018, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Households not struggling to pay doctor bills very likely enjoy a more solid financial footing overall, said senior researcher Robin Cohen, a health statistician for the NCHS. "Other studies have shown that problems paying medical bills can lead to financial consequences,...

Age Makes the Difference in Sticking With HIV Meds

12 February 2020
Age Makes the Difference in Sticking With HIV MedsWEDNESDAY, Feb. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Young people with HIV have much lower rates of viral suppression than adults with the AIDS-causing virus, a new U.S. study finds. Viral suppression means that HIV has been reduced to undetectable levels. Maintaining viral suppression for at least six months prevents the sexual transmission of HIV and helps people with the virus remain healthy. Researchers assessed more than 1,400 patients ages 12 to 24 with HIV who were referred to a nationwide treatment network. Of those, 75% were enrolled in care, with 34% remaining in care and beginning antiretroviral treatment. Twelve percent achieved viral suppression after a median of nearly five months. (Median means half took less time, half took longer.) That rate of viral suppression is much...

Shingles Vaccine Bonus: Reduced Risk of Stroke?

12 February 2020
Shingles Vaccine Bonus: Reduced Risk of Stroke?WEDNESDAY, Feb. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Seniors who get the shingles vaccine may gain stroke protection as well, a new study suggests. Shingles is a viral infection tied to heightened risk of stroke. But overall stroke risk dropped 20% among patients under age 80 who got the shingles vaccine. In patients 80 and older, risk was cut by about 10%, said researchers led by Quanhe Yang, a senior scientist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "This is a win-win for vaccination," said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, director of the Ahmanson-University of California, Los Angeles Cardiomyopathy Center. "Less shingles, less stroke," said Fonarow, who was not involved in the study. The findings follow a review of Medicare records for more than 1 million patients over age 66. All...

Growing Up in U.S. 'Stroke Belt' Bad for the Brain Later in Life

12 February 2020
Growing Up in U.S. `Stroke Belt` Bad for the Brain Later in LifeWEDNESDAY, Feb. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Americans who grew up in the swath of the South known as the Stroke Belt are more likely to develop thinking declines later in life, even if they moved away as adults, a new study suggests. But people who grew up elsewhere and moved to the Stroke Belt are less likely to succumb to so-called cognitive decline than if they'd lived there all their lives, researchers found. "As other studies are also finding, this study suggests that attention should be paid to starting earlier in life to manage, or better yet prevent, risk factors for cognitive decline, and not wait until you are in your 'golden years,'" said lead researcher Virginia Howard. She's a professor of epidemiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public...

AHA News: Stroke Survivors Might Need Better Screening for Depression

12 February 2020
AHA News: Stroke Survivors Might Need Better Screening for DepressionWEDNESDAY, Feb. 12, 2020 (American Heart Association News) -- Depression among stroke survivors peaks during the early months of recovery and persists for a full year, a new study finds. Experts say better screening methods are needed for this population to more effectively prevent and treat depression. "We found that depression is both prevalent and persistent during the first year following a stroke," said lead researcher Liming Dong, a research investigator at the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor. She is presenting the preliminary findings next week at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles. The new analysis relied on a standard eight-item questionnaire used to measure symptoms of depression at three, six and...

In Small Study, No Sign That Coronavirus Can Be Passed...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- There's some good news about the new coronavirus: Preliminary research suggests that the virus cannot be transmitted from an infected pregnant woman to...

Scientists Spot Antibody That Might Help Diagnose, Treat...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers who have pinpointed an antibody linked to life-threatening autoimmune disorders in children say their discovery could lead to faster...
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